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Define Cognitive Dissonance Meaning

Cognitive Dissonance
An example of somebody displaying cognitively dissonant behaviour would be a situation where the persons views, values, beliefs etc are contradicted or opposed by one or other persons causing them mental (psychological) stress. At this point a state of cognition is triggered effectively causing them to refute, reject &/or miss-perceive the contradictory views, values or beliefs.

"smoking will most likely cause you to have cancer you know?"

"hmmm I'm not so sure I know people who have smoked all their lives and they're fine, plus I enjoy it anyway.." this is cognitive dissonance
By Jannel
Cognitive Dissonance
A condition of conflict or anxiety resulting from inconsistency between one's beliefs and one's actions, such as opposing the slaughter of animals and eating meat.

This child is going through a state of cognitive dissonance as he imitates his hero while physically beating his friends.
By Meta
Cognitive Dissonance
Cognitive Dissonance States that contradicting cognitions serve as a driving force that compels the mind to acquire or invent new thoughts or beliefs, or to modify existing beliefs, so as to reduce the amount of dissonance (conflict) between cognitions.

You do a boring job, but is paid $30/hour, so you say that is a nice and interesting job....'well, it is not cognitive dissonance, I think is a great new job!!'

You are deciding about two movies, your girlfriend wants to see the most boring one so after the cinema, you think it was a good movie and cool after all.
By Wini
Cognitive Dissonance
Knowing you made the wrong choice but are too stubborn to correct yourself and therefore deny it by saying everyone else made the wrong choice.

PS3 fanboy: PS3 KICKS 360'S ASS ANYDAY.

Xbox fanboy: Uhhh...Okay. Cognitive dissonance. I'll just go back to playing Halo 3.
By Theresa
Cognitive Dissonance
When a conservative objects to blaming George W. Bush for the recession, even though he blames everything that happened during the Bush Administration on Bill Clinton.

Conservative: Yep the old usual left wing play, if all else fails, blame Bush.

Liberal: But you blamed everything that happened during the Bush Administration on Clinton. How is that any different?

Conservative: I guess I'm engaging in some cognitive dissonance.
By Marje
Cognitive Dissonance
Ben Shapiro's tweet from the 14th of September, 2020 at 9:02 AM

Ben Shapiro is so close to the point many have been trying to make, that All Cops Are Bastards, that he's actually making progressive's point for them, without realising, and thinking he's making a conservative, pro-police point; ladies and gentlemen, this is cognitive dissonance in action.
By Tamera
Cognitive Dissonance
A mental conflict where a person's beliefs do not align with reality, creating a feeling of unease and tension, which results in the person attempting to rationalize their belief to cope with the discomfort

A: "Trump is going to win this election by a landslide!"

*Trump loses the election*

A: "No way he lost, the election is rigged! Trump still won this by a landslide"

This person is experiencing cognitive dissonance
By Carmel
Cognitive Dissonance
The paradoxical belief that Marxism and Communism lead to the dissolution of Government.

Which happens a lot, because the only historical examples of people to totally overthrow and eliminate government were communistic or directly Marxist. How does that fact give me cognitive dissonance?
By Winnifred
Cognitive Dissonance
Reading/listening to classical media (newspapers/radio/tv news channels) vs having your world view determined by reading different bloggers' online garbage.

Caveat emptor!The rapid and uncontrolled mushrooming of social media has created an atmosphere of cognitive dissonance.
By Jackqueline
Cognitive Dissonance
Internally repealing old beliefs and past experiences and replacing them with new information that contradicts the original to conform with internal belief structures.

Example: Democrats

Joe Biden saying if the President had done his job, no one would have died from Covid-19, then declaring "there is nothing we can do to change the trajectory of the pandemic in the next several months" is an extreme case of Cognitive Dissonance.
By Kyla